Wednesday, May 30, 2012

I was rummaging through my nail polish stash and wanted to come up with something a little different...I'm a simple girl, usually just one nail color at a time. So I decided to go crazy today and, *gasp*, tried a shimmery glaze over one of my favorite nail colors. Lol.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone! Hope you all have been enjoying a good time with friends and family! :) If you're curious as to what I've been up to...here's why I haven't posted since Friday:

Yeah...guilty pleasure. Bet y'all didn't know that I was a closet gamer geek, lol! Also a big fan of World of Warcraft and the entire Final Fantasy series... But don't worry, we'll be back to fashion and makeup by tomorrow! :D

Friday, May 25, 2012

Hello hello! TGIF everyone! Too bad I'm about to head off to work, PLUS I'm getting over a cold. Blargh... I'm also going out to a super fancy-schmancy dinner...the kind where they serve an 8-course chef's tasting menu with wine pairings. Sounds good, right? Not if you've lost most of your sense of taste, which is oftentimes what happens when you have a cold. Nooooooooooooo! But, that aside, just thought I'd share my look of the day with you all. I did a subtle, shimmery smokey eye which I'll intensify with more black shadow and false lashes tonight when I go out:

Achieving this look is a piece of cake. First, I applied a shimmery grey cream shadow all over my top and bottom lids. Here, I used Buxom's Stay-There Eyeshadow in Pug. Then I darkened my outer corners with Sephora Collection Eyeshadow in Starry Sky No. 7. Next, I drew a winged line along my top lash line with black gel eyeliner and then finished with some mascara. Done, done, and done!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Hey, remember my Minty Pink look from last week? I finally got around to editing photos for the tutorial, so, here you go! I'm going to try something a little different this time, I've compiled all the tutorial photos into a step-by-step collage. Let me know what you think...if you find this method more useful or if you prefer the way I've done this before.

Step 1

Starting with primed eyelids, I apply a soft, matte mint shade to my entire top and bottom eyelid.

Using a deep, espresso shade, I layer over the pencil eyeliner, being sure to thoroughly smudge and smoke the shadow along my outer corners.

Step 4

With a medium brown shade, I blend out the area I just smoked to soften the edges.

Step 5

I draw a modest winged line along my upper lash line with black gel eyeliner.

Step 6

Curl lashes, apply mascara, and I'm done!

*note* These colors are fairly common and you can use them from any brand. I chose mine from Coastal Scents 88 Original Palette (now on sale for $9.48!) because I prefer my shadows to be on the matte side. :)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

It's been getting warmer these days and, over the years, I've realized that I have to modify my makeup with the change in seasons. Now that we're on the cusp of summer, I don't have to worry so much about the dry areas of my complexion, regarding my combination skin. Oil control, however, is now my top priority and I *think* I've managed to put together an effective foundation regimen to combat the grease!

My favorite BB Cream of the moment is Always Nuddy BB 24 (gotta love the name!) by Elisha Coy. I found that the Missha Perfect Cover was a little to heavy for the summer. Always Nuddy is super, super lightweight with medium coverage and absorbs very quickly with no greasy feel whatsoever. It's almost fragrance free, except for the barest trace of citrus scent. A little goes a long way and the formula dries to a near-matte finish so you can pretty much wear it alone without any finishing powder. I finish it with ELF Mineral Booster in Tinted, however, for extra oil control and because Always Nuddy is just a tad too fair for my complexion, so the tinted finishing powder gives me the golden glow that I need to look natural. This combo is completely weightless on my face and I barely have to touch up my t-zone during the course of the day.

My only gripe is that neither product comes with sun protection, so make sure you prep with an SPF moisturizer prior to application. You can purchase a 15ml tube of Always Nuddy from eBay for about $5-$6, shipping included. So far, this little tube has lasted me nearly a month and it's still more than half full! ELF Mineral Booster is available at ELF for $5, keep an eye out for free shipping and sales which go on all the time!

Monday, May 21, 2012

I took another trip to San Francisco's Japantown recently and came back with a bunch of super-pretty lashes! (of course, what else is new?) Lol, anyways, I thought I'd share some new lash styles that I discovered and can't wait to try out! :D

I'm really excited about these "natural" style lashes with clear lash bands. I can't wait to see how they look on!

These are new to me...bottom lashes. They look pretty intense, I hope I'll be able to pull them off!

And of course I love my glitters!

Oh, and look what else! An eyelash case! What a great idea, right? I hate it when I lose my lashes after just one wear...usually because, following occasions where I apply false lashes, I'm a little tipsy (oh, but don't worry, husband is always DD, lol) and my first inclination is to wash up and collapse into bed. This pretty little case holds up to 4 pairs! I'm looking forward to being able to organize my lashes and increase their longevity!

Well, that's all I got for tonight! Hope you guys had fun checking out my new lash stash and have a great Monday night!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Yesterday I attended a big dinner party with lots of close friends and family to celebrate my mom and dad's 37th wedding anniversary. Oh, they've had their ups and downs, as I'm sure most couples do, but the bottom line is that they've worked hard to build a rock-solid marriage and have been determined to stick together...no matter what. They're inseparable companions: working together, eating together, sleeping together. Lol, I love my husband, I do, but I think that if we had to spend every waking moment together, we'd probably drive each other crazy! All joking aside, however, I truly admire my parents' resilience as a couple and can only strive to build such a strong, lasting bond with my husband.

I'll take any excuse to dress up, but I think this occassion was an excellent reason to do so, don't you think? I wore a flared, clip-dot cotton voile dress printed with purple florals and accented with delicate crochet lace as well as pintuck and pleat detailing. It was a gift from my mother and sister, who saw it on a shopping trip at Kohl's and immediately thought of me. Wasn't that sweet of them? They know my taste so well! I paired it with some white leather eyelet platform mules by Guess and jewelry by Lovelina, of course. :)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

I wanted to share a really cool photograph that my sister did of me. We're both graphic design students at the same university and this was the latest project in our digital imaging class. We were supposed to do a photo stitcher, that is, taking a series of photos and blending them together to make one image. A lot of other students did landscape panoramas. My very talented and creative sister took it to the next level and wowed our professor with something more unique. I'm so proud of her and am honored that she captured me in such a whimsical way. :)

It's me on my own little planet! In a sense, it captures a deep part of my essence as it was inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Le Petit Prince. Probably my favorite novel in the whole, wide world. I try to live by the simple, yet profound message that is the heart of the story. If you've read it, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, you should. :)

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Hey all, got a chance to try my new Complete Color Lipstick by Studio Gear. What do you think?

It's a vibrant shade of rose that's more red than pink, although you can see the barest trace of pink in it. Since the color packed such a punch, I decided to balance out by doing a monochromatic smoke, as not to upstage it. It's almost fragrance free, I can smell just the faintest hint of coconut, maybe. The formula is smooth, lightweight, moisturizing, and nearly opaque, though it's the slightest bit sheer. I like the way it feels, not at all cake-y or dry. It's a nice color, but, to be honest, it's not one that I wear very often. I tend to go all-out red or fuchsia if I want a big bang. I think I'll probably end up giving it to my mom, who has very fair skin. These shades tend to look more flattering on her. :)

For those of you that subscribe to MyGlam, did any of you receive the same color? Or did you get something else? I wish I would have gotten something a little more on the neutral side, or bright barbie pink, lol.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Hey, it's that time of the month again! Lol, but not THAT time of the month, thank goodness...I got some goodies in the mail today. :D Fun stuff from MyGlam, check it out:

This month's theme is "Love is in the Air" and each of the items included in our cute little pink-kissed bag effectively reflect the sentiment. Here in the San Francisco bay area, it feels like winter has finally receded and the warm glow of the sun has made itself present on a near-daily basis, in fact, I think temperatures nearly reached 80 degrees over the weekend! There's just something about sunshine, blue sky, and flowers in bloom that puts me in the mood for love, which makes this little bag a welcome addition to my makeup collection.

First up is Love Sweet Love eau de toilette by Philosophy:

For those of us who like all things sugary, Love Sweet Love is a fresh, fruity scent that lingers pleasantly without being overbearing. I imagine it would be fun, flirty fragrance to wear on a date!

Next is Complete Color Lipstick by Studio Gear, quoted as "Intensely Professional Lipstick":

Lol, intensely professional, eh? I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but it sounds like this lipstick means business!
MyGlam describes it as "rich color that plumps and hydrates". Sounds
good to me! I received it in Rose Impressionist, a deep shade of pink
bordering on red. Can't wait to try it! I think it would look pretty
smashing with a smokey, cat-eye, don't you agree?

Then we have two more professional cosmetic brushes by MyGlam in their signature pink handle:

They're soft, with just the right amount of stiffness and seem pretty decent quality. The little one is an all-purpose detail brush, which I think would be great for tight-lining and, though the second brush is described as a concealer brush, I think I might use it as a lip brush.

Finally, we have Nail Bling, by Miss Beauty. They're sparkly, adhesive nail embellishments to jazz up your fingertips with the added benefit of no drying time and up to 10 days wear.

Not exactly my style, but they could be fun if I'm in the right mood! I'm looking forward to trying out this month's bag and will post a review and look with the lipstick soon! :D

It's been a good Monday so far, hope all of you are enjoying yours as well!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Hey all! Sorry I've been AWOL, this is the busiest 2 weeks I've experienced in a long time! It's midterm week for me, but there have been all sorts of crazy things going on as well, including impromptu visits from out-of-town relatives and other exciting things that I'll share with you guys when the time is right. :D So at the risk of sounding lame, I'm going to go ahead and do a short and sweet product review for the T3 Featherweight hairdryer.

Yeah, so my hairdryer finally gave out over the weekend. Actually, it was annoying the heck out of me so I threw it out! For the past 2 months, it's been spontaneously shutting down without starting up again, which is the worst when I'm trying to get ready for class in the morning. Also, recently, it's began making this irritating, high-pitched sound after being on a for about a minute. It got to the point where my husband could hear it behind two sets of doors (our bedroom and bathroom) and asked me what the heck was wrong with my hairdryer! That's when I knew I was through.

I've heard all these amazing things about T3 Tourmaline Ionic hairdryers, but I've always figured a hairdryer is a hairdryer, right? Plus, the T3 Featherweight comes with a hefty retail price tag of about $200 at Sephora, so I was kind of thinking...um...no! So what changed my mind? It turns out my one of my sisters purchased one from Gilt at a discounted price. It's been collecting dust, because she's generally accustomed to air-drying her hair, so she said she would sell it to me for an even more discounted price! :D I ended up getting it for about half the MSRP...which still isn't cheap. But enough of all this boring talk, let's get down to the nitty gritty:

The first thing I noticed about the T3 Featherweight was that, although it seemed to lack the power of my old hairdryer, the temperature of the air was noticeably hotter. I admit, I was a little disappointed at first, I didn't think it'd be able to dry my hair with such a weak stream of air. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it got the job done in about 5 minutes. Not only that, my hair seemed a lot silkier finished with the T3F as opposed to my previous dryer. I don't know if I was just imagining things, but I've used it for a few days now, and that appears to be my experience. Also, the T3F was much lighter and quieter than my old hairdryer. The verdict? Two thumbs up!

Don't feel like paying $100+ for a hairdryer? Well, it turns out you can get your hands on one from Amazon for about $70. Still not cheap, but it's not $200! Wish I would have known that before I bought it off my sister, but I'm still pretty happy with the investment. :D Hope you guys found this review useful! Have a great night! (although it's back to hitting the books for me)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

As I live my life, I go through (relatively) the same motions...day in, day out. I go to work, I go to school, I make jewelry, I blog, etc. Sometimes, it seems, I almost forget who I am and, suddenly, everything seems so mechanical that I'm left wondering if there is more to life than the monotony of my day to day actions. It is in those moments that I find myself reaching for the things that inspire me, that remind me that, yes, somewhere out there, there is magic to be found. It is in reaching for these inspirations that inspired me to (with the help of my dear friend and very talented photographer, Mr. Noel Holmes) create my latest shoot, which I'll not call a style or fashion shoot, for it's a whole creature of its own which I'll leave undefined. :)

For this, I turned to two artists that I greatly admire: French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. I had two works in mind when I wanted to do this shoot: